Chapter 6 Apology Sandwich
Apology Sandwich
True to his word, Sawyer walked me to work with his arm snaked around my waist, holding me close. It meant our walk took longer, but it was very comforting to have him glued to my side.
At the door, he pressed a kiss to my forehead, and my heart squeezed. He’d been blurring that line between best friend and boyfriend even more than normal, and I was so needy, I ate it up greedily.
“I’ll see you after work,” he said. “I told them I couldn’t stay late. I figured we could make dumplings and stream a movie.”
Patting his chest, I smiled up at him, my heart feeling full even as my stomach swooped uneasily. Nothing felt normal anymore, not since that day when I touched Thorne’s hand.
“Something funny, okay?”
“You got it. A Halloween slasher flick. Extra gory.”
“You’re the worst,” I said over my shoulder, pushing the shop door open.
Sawyer gave me an exaggerated wink, and I let the door swing closed in his face, biting my lip to suppress my smile.
The dusty, sweet smell of fresh hay hit me, and I sighed, heading to the back to put away my bag so I could help Margie wrangle the small hay bales we carried to the stall at the back of the store.
Two hours later, I’d sold chicks to a backyard farmer, dewormer to a competitive horseback rider, and bird food to the sweet little grandma who lived at the end of the lane and kept a parakeet for each of her grandchildren.
Taking a swig of my water bottle, I sat at the stool by the register. It’d been a busy morning, and I’d earned the break.
The door opened, and Thorne appeared, framed by afternoon sunlight turning his reddish brown hair to copper flames.
Oh, no. Not this guy. Absolutely not.
“Hey, hey, Autumn. Can I please apologize to you?”
He held his hands up in a peace offering. One of them held a bag from the local sandwich shop.
Scowling, I studied his expression and then the bag. It looked legit, but maybe he wanted to poison me.
As if he could read my mind, Thorne said, “It’s not poisoned. The clerk said you liked the turkey cheese grilled with pepper jelly, and I’ll even take a bite of it if you need me to prove there’s nothing wrong with it.”
My exhale was almost a growl. Crossing my arms, I narrowed my eyes at him menacingly. “Look, dude. I’m not sure why you’re so pushy, and now you’re bringing me food like this is a date or something.”
Thorne straightened, his brows furrowing. “It’s not. I know I freaked you out, and I wanted to apologize and show you that I’m a normal guy.”
“Yeah, because normal guys have to clarify that they’re normal guys.”
Thorne’s smile fell, his eyes widening in a way that was frankly adorable. “Okay, fine. I’m weird and awkward. And I’ve never been big into dating.”
He took a step closer.
“Autumn, you’re so gorgeous, it makes it hard to function. I really messed this up. Please accept my apology sandwich.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek while I considered.
“I’ll take the sandwich but we aren’t having lunch.”
His shoulders dropped, and he looked a bit like a kicked puppy. Against my better judgement, I continued.
“But I like to eat at the picnic table at the back, and if you happen to be there, I guess I wouldn’t get too mad,” I conceded, accepting the bag he offered after pulling out his own sandwich.
Questioning my life choices, I headed to the back to grab my phone and tell Margie I was going on break. Thorne didn’t follow me, but strode to the back of the store and out the back door to the picnic table instead.
The temperature had dropped as the season grew later, and I was thankful for Sawyer’s green flannel jacket. Thorne eyed it as he sat down on the bench opposite me. Ignoring him, I unwrapped my turkey sandwich, revealing the sweet, chewy goodness.
Carefully, I tore a chunk of the inside of the sandwich off and held my hand up, offering it to Thorne.
“It’s not poisoned, right?”
He smiled wryly and plucked it from my palm. The tips of his fingers brushed my skin, and sparks danced down my arm. The urge to leap over the table and tackle him was so strong, I had to squeeze my thighs together.
His jaw ticked, and he froze, the muscles in his arms and torso tightening until I could see every groove through his snug shirt. Slowly, he lifted the piece to his mouth and popped it in, chewing. His throat bobbed as he swallowed.
I bet he looked incredible naked. I’d already imagined it, in my dream. The memory of his naked body against mine had a flush rushing up my neck. Suddenly, I was a little too warm for the fall weather.
Tugging my flannel off, I set it on the bench beside me. His gaze roved over my t-shirt that unfortunately declared I was “Feeling Corny”.
There was nothing to do but ignore it. Thorne’s full lips pulled into a smirk, and I focused on my sandwich, taking a big bite. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until the smell of turkey and their homemade bread hit my nose.
“Good?” Thorne asked, his eyes on my lips where they were wrapped around the sandwich as my teeth tore off a second bite.
My affirmative “mmhmmm” sounded like a moan, and I cringed. Swallowing, I added, “It’s great. What did you get?”
“The same,” he said simply, not even looking as he took a normal-sized bite.
We ate in silence, and as my hunger wore away, my bad mood ebbed too. Now that he wasn’t being creepy, Thorne wasn’t half bad. I kind of enjoyed sitting with him. But eventually, he’d open his big, dumb mouth and ruin things.
“I’ve been nothing but honest with you,” he began.
Here we go again.
Setting my sandwich down, I leaned back.
“I don’t know how we ended up in this antagonistic place.
Honestly. I don’t really know you. But you were there when I had some sort of meltdown panic attack.
I still don’t know what was wrong with me.
But then you showed back up, declaring we were soulmates and asking—” I hesitated, trying to find the courage to say it.
I chickened out and went with, “—how I felt.”
He grimaced. “Not my best moment.”
“But I overreacted too. You just freaked me out.”
“I’m sorry.” He bit his lip, drawing my gaze to his sharp-looking teeth and how beautiful his mouth looked.
I was so taken, I almost missed his next words.
“I was affected too, that first day. I went home feeling like I’d been hit by a truck.
And the only thing I could conclude was that it was some sort of connection with you. ”
“Geez, was there some sort of neurotoxin on the egg carton? Was your friend alright?”
Thorne chuckled. “He was as alright as he usually is. Cole is…odd.”
“Hopefully nothing like that happens again. It wasn’t exactly fun.”
Sighing, Thorne rubbed one hand down his arm. “Look, I know we had a rough start. But you are really beautiful. My dream girl, honestly. And I’d like to take you to dinner and see if we click. I promise I’m not a stalker or an axe murderer.”
He smiled, and it was so charming, I felt it from my head to my vagina.
This was a royally bad idea. I didn’t know this guy.
There was no way he was being truthful about everything.
But something about him drew me in. It wasn’t just the fact that he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen.
Seriously, the guy had to be a male model.
But he had a calm energy that I liked. He made me feel good just being around him.
Besides, I’d been making monumentally stupid decisions since I dry-humped Sawyer’s thigh. What was one more bad choice?
“Okay, but somewhere public. And don’t expect anything. I’m not even going to kiss you at the end of the night.”
He kept his cool, but I could tell that internally, Thorne was doing a fist-bump. His smile widened to a grin, and I couldn’t help the curve of my lips.
“So are there any nice restaurants you like around here?”
“Oh no,” I said, pausing before I took another bite. “You asked me out, you plan it. I’m not doing the mental labor involved in our not-actually-a-date date.”
The skin around his eyes crinkled as he grinned again. “Fair enough. Can I have your number? I’ll text you what I figure out. How’s tonight?”
“How about tomorrow?” I offered.
“Great.”
Against my better judgement, I put my number in his phone. He finished his sandwich and watched me as I finished mine.
“Thanks for lunch. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, tugging my flannel back on now that my skin had cooled. Thorne stood and nodded, his hands tucked into his pockets.
“Tomorrow. Have a good evening, Autumn.”
Giving him another awkward wave, I slipped through the door and headed to the back room so I wouldn’t have to see him as he crossed the store and left. Margie was still manning the front register, so I took a moment to gather myself.
From that small contact with him, my skin tingled, even after several minutes had passed. My heartbeat pulsed under my skin, at my throat, between my legs. I wasn’t as turned on as the first time, but there was no denying that Thorne did something to my body.
Shaking myself, I tried to ignore it and focus back on work. I certainly wasn’t going to run away again. And do what? Go get some relief on my best friend and roommate’s thigh… again?
Absolutely not.
There was nothing to do but grit my teeth and pretend I wasn’t making a list in my head of sex positions I’d like to try with Thorne. Ones that would never happen.
I shouldn’t have agreed to go to dinner with him. It was a terrible idea.